Thank you for giving the Gift of Warmth

As temperatures drop into the single digits our thoughts turn to our neighbors who cannot afford to heat their homes.

As temperatures drop into the single digits our thoughts turn to our neighbors who cannot afford to heat their homes.

From years of reporting on this issue we know the majority needing fuel assistance are elderly people who have worked hard their entire lives, whose incomes in their non-working years simply have not been able to keep pace with the ever escalating costs for shelter, food, fuel and medicine.

Through the years we have met disabled veterans who have given so much to their country and who now find themselves reluctantly asking for a small measure of help in return. We recall the stories of men and women who suffered a major illness that put them deep in debt with no way to pay ever mounting bills.

People earning middle incomes know how hard it is to make ends meet each month. Two-income families regularly do triage on monthly bills, paying what is most urgent today and setting aside for a week or two those bills that can wait.

But for those without savings, without a cushion, without a steady income, that bill triage can often mean choosing between shelter, food, fuel and medicine.

Because our hearts and minds are open we know that very good people can find themselves in very challenging circumstances beyond their control. Life is tough and in the winter it can be especially cruel.

That's why, for the eighth year, Seacoast Media Group is working with Rockingham Community Action and Seacoast Sunday readers to provide a "Gift of Warmth" to Seacoast residents in need.

Each year we are humbled by your generosity and the caring you show for others in the community who need a helping hand to get through the winter.

Since 2008 the federal government had cut its LIHEAP fuel assistance program in half. New Hampshire received $51 million in 2008-2009 and $24 million in 2012-2013, and more cuts are on the way. Faced with these cuts, local agencies must either help fewer people in need or give the same number of people a smaller amount of assistance. Also, the federal bureaucrats who administer LIHEAP aid follow very strict formulas about who is eligible and who is not, meaning many people in need get nothing because they do not meet some arcane requirement.

That's where Gift of Warmth comes in. Every dollar readers donate to Gift of Warmth goes to Rockingham Community Action, which distributes it based on real need, not bureaucratic guidelines. RCA's Patte Ardizzoni tells us "one elderly client was unable to have fuel delivered because the opening to the tank was too high off the ground, so we had stairs built."

Nobody makes any money off Gift of Warmth. It's just people helping people using good common sense.

Already this year the money has begun to come in. On behalf of all our neighbors in need who are not able to thank you in person, we offer our most heartfelt thanks. Because of your kindness and generosity, someone who is frail, elderly or disabled will not have to live in a cold place or be forced to choose between eating or heating. We so admire those who, while facing their own personal challenges, still find it in their hearts to help others.

If you would like to join the hundreds of people who have supported Gift of Warmth through the years, we invite you to make your tax-deductible donation by sending a check made out to SMG c/o Gift of Warmth, 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801.

To apply for fuel assistance, call RCA at 431-2911. The main office is at 4 Cutts Ave., Portsmouth.

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